Facebook owner Meta puts plans to build Dutch data centre on ice By Reuters

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Facebook (NASDAQ:) owner Meta said on Tuesday it was suspending plans to build a giant data centre in the Netherlands, following political opposition.

The move comes a week after the Dutch Senate passed a motion asking Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government to “use its powers” to temporarily block construction of the site in the northern town of Zeewolde, 50 km east of Amsterdam.

“Given the current circumstances, we have decided to pause our development efforts in Zeewolde,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

The town in December had approved plans to build the largest facility of its kind in the Netherlands, from which Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp would serve users across Europe.

It would use 1.38 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity and cover 166 hectares (410 acres) of farmland, and was expected to run on green energy and create 400 permanent jobs.

It was, however, opposed by some environmental campaigners who do not want the limited supply of sustainable power generated in the Netherlands to be used by a multinational company. Some residents of Zeewolde said they felt their voices had not been heard in the permitting process.

The Senate motion asked the government to delay construction until a government policy on data centres had been agreed.

“After having been invited in 2019 by the local, provincial and national government to consider a data center investment in the Netherlands and Zeewolde in particular, Meta envisioned a strong partnership that would bring jobs and community benefits to the region,” the spokesperson said.

The company left the door open to restarting the project, saying it would continue to cooperate with the municipality over what to do next.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.